December 2009
The Archives
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FiDi, Raising the Bar
Tastings at Vintry Wine & Whiskey – NYC
For those procrastinators who don’t have plans yet, and want to go to a small bar with no madness, no cover, and a champagne toast, I went to a really cool bar in the Financial District this week. Yes, FiDi! Believe it! Vintry Wine & Whiskey has 80 wines available for tastings, whiskeys from around the world, and a truly delicious small plates menu (gnocchi is AMAZING). Get the 411 at SE:NY. I just called the bar (212-480-9800), and reservations are still available. Happy New Year’s Eve! Stay safe.
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Korea, Restaurants, Seoul, Street Eats
Last Night with More Offal in Korea – Seoul
12.27.09 | Permalink | 7 Comments
There was so much food I wanted to eat in Seoul, but one week just wasn’t enough. There was the dduk I wanted to eat from the nice old ladies in the subway station (1 styrofoam tray for KR ₩1,000/US $00.84!), more street ddukboki, jajangmyun (자장면, noodles with black bean sauce), sweet potato fries, more samgyupsal (삼겹살, pork belly)… the list goes on and on. Fortunately, there was one thing on my to-eat list I made sure to eat before take-off to Beijing: my favorite, gobchang (곱창, small intestines). Well, not exactly but close enough, I ate daechang (대창, large intestines).
When Joo Hyun and Soo Hyun said we were going to go eat daechang, I was excited, but also apprehensive. The thing with large intestines is that it’s usually funkier than small intestines, and I mean funkier in a bad way. A little irony funk is nice, but too much and you need another bottle of soju to make it enjoyable. That’s been my experience so far in New York at least. However, when we got to Yeontabal (연타발), immediately I knew it was going to be different. First of all, the restaurant is strictly charcoal (숯불, sootbul). Meat always tastes better when it’s cooked on charcoal as opposed to a gas grill. Second, all the meat brought to the table was fresh. You could tell just from looking at it. But of course, even with the best intentions, food can be royally f*cked up. Happily though, with the help of Joo Hyun, I can report to the contrary. MORE »
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LES, Raising the Bar
Tuesday Nights at Allen & Delancey – NYC
12.25.09 | Permalink | 2 Comments
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays lovely readers! I’m still working on my post about my last night in Seoul, but in the meantime, check out “Raising the Bar: Tuesday Nights at Allen & Delancey” on SE:NY. Half-off drinks and tongue is involved… tongue of the edible kind. Anything beyond that can’t be guaranteed.
Again, warm wishes to everyone. I hope a fabulous meal awaits all of you today. If not, make it work anyway.
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Korea, Restaurants, Seoul
Crabs & Live Octopus at Pro Soy Crab – Seoul
12.18.09 | Permalink | 11 Comments
When I went to Korea this year, one of things I insisted on eating was sannakji (산낙지, live octopus). I’d never had it. Years and years ago, I went with my family to a seaside restaurant on the Korean coast and I remember people eating sannakji all around us. I wanted to try it, but we ended up not ordering it because my little cousins (who by the way are not so little anymore and have somehow graduated from college) were going through a phase where they refused to eat anything except spam. Instead, we ate fish jigae (stew) and had the restaurant fry up some spam for the kids (if you can believe it, my aunt always carried a can in her purse).
So this time in Korea, as an adult who could set her own agenda and eat whatever she pleased, I told Joo Hyun and Soo Hyun we had to go eat sannakji. I’m pretty sure they weren’t too excited. Not because it’s weird, but because live octopus is one of those gimmicky foods Americans want to eat when they visit Korea. (It’s like, “Yeah, I’m in the Korea, let’s go eat something bizarre… LIVE OCTOPUS!!!”) Well, unfortunately for them, I am American, so off we went one night in search of sannakji. David oddly insisted on staying in at the hotel. MORE »
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Flatiron, Raising the Bar
Excellent Bites in the Tavern of Gramercy Tavern – NYC
This week I went fancy and had a drink and a few small bites at the Gramercy Tavern. Not the main dining room, the tavern, but that’s still pretty nice in my book. Read “Raising the Bar: Excellent Small Bites in the Tavern of Gramercy Tavern” at SE:NY for more food intel.
